What To Look For When Working With a Social Media Agency
Thinking about hiring a social media agency? Congrats!! Outsourcing your social media to a professional is a big step in growing your business long-term.
There are SO many social media agencies and freelancers out there - so how do you choose the right one for your business? Here are some of our tips and questions to ask when considering working with a social media agency.
Where are they based? The great part about social media is that they can essentially be located anywhere. However, it is typically beneficial for your time zone to be the same (or similar!) for communication purposes. Also, if they are doing any photography for you, it might be best to keep this done locally as shipping fees can get expensive.
How often will they post? We usually advise posting a minimum of 5 times per week on Instagram and Facebook (more for Twitter + Pinterest). Anything less and you probably won’t be able to see much growth.
How often to communicate do you expect to communicate with them? How do you want to communicate with them? Asking these questions prior to starting a contract with a social media agency can prevent issues down the road. If you’re wanting to communicate every day via text, and they’re expecting 2x a week via email, you might want to look elsewhere.
Will they handle community management (replying to comments & DMs & engaging with other accounts)? Some clients prefer to handle this in-house. If you’re comfortable with the social media agency handling it, be sure to provide them with an FAQ document so they can quickly address customer concerns.
Have they worked with similar brands in your industry? Typically, a social media agency that has some experience with your industry is preferred, but it is not necessary.
Look at the social media agency’s social media accounts. Do they do a good job maintaining and connecting on their own social media?
Look at the past client social media accounts that they have managed. Do you like how they look?
Are they requiring a certain contract length? Contracts of a year+ can be risky, but too short of a contract may not produce any growth for your social media accounts.
How will you be charged? There are three main pricing models I’ve seen: hourly, flat fee, and a percentage of sales. There are pros and cons to each, so make sure you choose what’s best for your business. If you anticipate requesting a lot of edits and changes, hourly might not be the way to go. If you’re killing it in sales already without the social media agency, maybe don’t consider the sales choice.
Do they have any testimonials from past clients? If they don’t, this is a huge red flag!
Be sure to do your research when reaching out to social media agencies, and then ask them any of these questions on your discovery call with them if you couldn’t get them answered prior to reaching out.
And if you’re looking for a social media agency, we’d love to help! Book a one-on-one consultation with us or fill out our Client Application Form. Chat soon!
